


Rising Up

by PookaDragon



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: A.I. Jack, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jack being Jack, Lily has got two dads, Lily needs protection, Multi, Other, Past Child Abuse, Wainright is basically Lily's second dad, along with Hammerlock, but he does his best, ship later on in story/undecided
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PookaDragon/pseuds/PookaDragon
Summary: (Takes place at beginning of BL3) Lily, a Tamer Vault hunter, goes to the wreckage of Helios for supplies for her journey to help the Crimson Raiders of stopping the Calypso Twins from opening 'The Great Vault'. But as she finds materials, she finds a small chip that contains something, and that is the last A.I of Handsome Jack, who was pissed when he woke up after seven years since his death. So he offers the young vault hunter a deal she couldn't refuse; helps her with this little adventure and she helps him find a body. What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Original Female Character(s), Katagawa Jr/Original Female Character mentioned, Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. A Deal

**Author's Note:**

> So this will be my first fanfic of Borderlands since I have defeated BL3 and slowly working with BL2 and Pre-Sequel (I need to get my hands on Tales from the Borderlands) and I already fell in love with the fandom after many months with it. And I wanted to give it a shot when a young vault hunter has to deal with someone like Jack...and she is in for an adventure, not only dealing with psychos, but with a maniac/dick named Handsome Jack.

**Chapter 1: A Deal**

The sun slowly rises over the sands of Pandora, Rakks flying in and out of their nest as the heat starts to rise up, turrets surrounding areas to prevent people from entering in and out of the wasteland, and the wreckage of the Hyperion space station, Helios. People were given a law to stay away from that place as it has brought many bad memories from the lasers that would penetrate the planet for it's eridium crystals. 

But many do not listen to that law. 

By a small cliff, there was a boulder being slightly moved over as a figure slowly came out, a gas mask over their face before slowly gesturing their hand from behind as they slowly tip-toed away from the active turret that has not spotted them. Behind the figure, was a large Saurian as it lets out a snort, it's red pupils looking at the figure before slowly following them, also keeping quiet as it's talon like feet avoid any stone or debree to give them away.The lizard's blue frills on it's head flickered back and forth before snorting at the figure in front of them. 

Once the figure turned around, they could see they were far from the turret and lets out a gruff. It then pats the Saurian's side gently. "Good girl, Lunastra...let's hurry and get this over with." They said before pulling out a small harness from their backpack. The Saurian nods before leaning her head and neck forward for the stranger to place the harness on her. Once making sure it was secure, the figure grabbed the handles of the harness and hopping onto Lunastra's back. 

Lunastra shook her head rapidly before feeling the human stroking her side. She lets out a gruff before starting to run to the wreckage of Helios. The Saurian's powerful legs leaps over rocks and metal debree while the human kept their body leaning forward. They started to come closer and closer to their destination as Lunastra came to a slow halt, letting out a roar before walking. The human looked at the large space station in front of them before removing the gas mask. 

The human was a girl, her black hair flowing down to her lower back as part of her bangs were dyed white over her right eye. Her eyes is what stood out the most as they were mismatched, the left a gentle blue while the right was a ruby red. She adjusted the bandanna around her neck as both her and the Saurian looked around as they entered what use to be the most powerful space station in this galaxy. 

"...to think that this place could make other stations like kittens, huh?" The girl asked, Lunastra letting out a snort in response before stopping. She slowly got off of Lunastra and pets her head gently, earning a small purr in response before the Saurian grabbed a stick. 

" _What are we looking for, Lily?"_ The Saurian wrote. Lily looks over at Lunastra. "We need to find anything that can be useful for the hiring of the Crimson Raiders in a few days. Weapons, shields, ammunition, anything that can help out. You search over there, I'll start here." Lily starts to venture over to a small Hyperion locker before slowly rolling her sleeve up, her entire left arm cybernetic. She pulls her gloves off and then pulls out her ECHO, opening a small app before typing a few words in. 

Lunastra was sniffing the ground, letting out snorts before pushing over debree with her head. She tilts her head at a shield before grabbing it gently with her teeth and placed it in a bag, continuing her search. 

Lily then smirked when she got the locker open and placed her cybernetic hand down. Part of her red eye glowed a bit brighter before it turned to it's natural glow. She pushes the doors to the locker opened and smiled when she saw a Hyperion Shotgun in there, completely black with red stripes on it. "I don't think I've seen this brand before, probably a demo before they got this out in production." She held it in both hands before trying to aim, seeing the shield pop up from the weapon. 

"Seems to work well...gonna test it further when we get back home." She placed the shotgun in a holster on her back before grabbing some shotgun ammo. A few grenades were also found along with some more Hyperion shields and assault rifles. They have been at the wreckage for hours as the rest of the search starts to become less productive, finding many materials wrecked from the crash or merely rusted away from lack of use.

The search was about to be called off before Lily can hear Lunastra letting out a whine like roar. "What did you find, girl?" Lily asked as she walked over to the dinosaur as it scraped against a metal bin of what use to be a desk. Lily looks over before managing to pry the drawer opened. Both Lily and Lunastra tilt their heads as they saw a small flashdrive hidden in there. 

"....what's this?" Lily asked as she slowly picked it up, turning it over as she inspects it. It seemed to be in fine condition as Lunastra gives it a small sniff before letting out a gruff. Lily narrowed her eyes a bit before making her cybernetic hand scan the flashdrive and her face immediately brightened at what she found. 

"Lunastra, you found an A.I. flashdrive! And to think that they stopped making these! We need to see if it's testing good or not when we get back home. It could help us out." Lily said, placing the small drive in her front jacket pocket. The saurian merely tilts her head before perking her head up at the horizon as she can see the sun slowly starting to set over the the hills. Lily also saw the sun and nods. "Yeah, we need to head back before someone catches our secret entrance. And I think that's about all that there is here....fun while it lasted." She chuckled at the last part. 

Lunastra merely rolled her eyes at her human's amusement but lets out a chortle in laughter as she lets Lily hop onto her back once more. Lily looks back at the space station once more before petting the side of Lunastra's neck, making the dinosaur walk out of the wreckage and heading back home.

* * *

After pushing the boulder back into place and kicks the dirt to make it look like nothing was there, Lily and Lunastra head to their home as a large sewer entrance was sealed off. Lily gets off of Lunastra before knocking on the metal door. A small hatch opens as a large red eye looks down at Lily. "Password." 

That made Lily jerk her head back. Password?

"Password--I didn't give you a password, Rogue! Open up!" Lily said somewhat annoyed. There was a chirp sound before the hatch closed and the entrance opened to reveal a worn out Hyperion bot, it's red optical glancing down at her. "I'm sorry, Lily. Bandits tried to come in here and I had to think. I didn't realize you were returning so soon!" The bot replied, clasping it's metal hands together nervously. Lily sighs deeply before giving the chassis a gentle pat. "It's okay, bud...I'm glad you thought of a back-up plan." She said, smiling apologetically at the bot.

Rogue seemed to chirp happily before pulling Lily into a tight hug, which she wheezed out a laugh and pats his arm. "Yeah, yeah love you too, buddy. But please put me down, I can't breathe." She wheezed, which made Rogue panic and placed her down, glancing at her with concerns. She just smiled at him as Lunastra placed the bag on a table before going to a corner that had a large worn out mattress. She paws at it with her clawed hands before curling up and laid her head down. 

The inside of what Lily calls home wasn't all much, but she prefers it. The fridge and stove somewhat work but she keeps many generators on her in case they go out, string lighting all over the walls and small ceiling to give them light. And there were many shelves of technology and Hyperion brands she found in the desert or the wreckage of Helios from small shields to large snipers, shotguns and SMG's she found. 

"Miss Lily, I don't like it when you go to Helios all out on your own...what if you get caught?" Rogue asked, making Lunastra perk her head up and lets out an annoyed growl. Lily smiled at them both. "Rogue, don't worry. Lunastra was with me at all times and that's probably the last time I'm going there. Many of the stuff either rusted or were destroyed in the crash....but we did find something." She placed the shotgun down before pulling out the small flashdrive. 

"Lunastra found an A.I. flashdrive. Think it still works?" She asked, the Hyperion bot looking at it before scanning it. "Scanning....all seems operating at normal conditions. It seems an A.I. is already installed in there." Lily perked her head up at that. 

"Really? Think we can set it up now and see what we are dealing with?" Lily asked. She was excited because there was an A.I. and it could help her with many things if it is set up right. The Hyperion bot nods before walking over to a part of her home that had many monitor screens on. Lily stood beside Rogue as she types in a few commands before the screen displayed a green color. **_"Insert A.I. codes."_** Lily looks down at the flashdrive. 

"Well....here goes nothing...." 

**00~00**

There was only darkness, that was all he could see. 

He didn't think that spending the rest of eternity in total darkness would be this boring. That is until something glowed and there were voices being heard. 

"Are you sure it's working?" 

"I did ran a scan twice. All is operational." 

"...maybe it's one of those that needs to update slowly?"

One was a metallic voice, but the female voice he was not aware of nor did he heard of before. This made him slowly stand up and he could see a black haired woman with mismatched eyes staring at him with shock and an Hyperion bot as it blinked it's lens at him in what seems to be in shock. 

He blinks once, then twice before he narrowed his eyes but there was a smirk on his face. 

"....hey there, Kiddo...." 

**00~00**

Lily could hardly believe it as she stares at the screen with eyes wide with shock. 

It was Handsome Jack.

It was an A.I. of Handsome Jack, the once most powerful man, a bandit killer and CEO of what was Hyperion. And he was on her screen! "H-Handsome Jack...y-you're....you're..." Lily was stuttering as Lunastra looked at the screen, slowly standing onto her feet as she lets out a small growl. 

"Alive? Well, what can ya do...legends like myself don't go out that easy, kitten." He glanced around on the screen as he observes her home. "....real tacky place ya got. But that's enough about you, now tell me where the hell am I and how the hell did you get me on your damn computer?" He asked, even though he was smirking, Lily can tell that he was downright pissed at the circumstances he was in. 

"W-Well, you see...I-I usually go to the wreckage of Hyperion for supplies since....well, I really can't trust COV brands--" 

"Wait, wait, wait...COV?" Jack raised an eyebrow at that, crossing his arms over his chest as Lily nods. "Yeah, Children of the Vault, they started to make brands of shields and weapons, but they fall apart quickly." Lily explained, which earned a flat and yet annoyed look on Jack's face. So another bandit brand, huh? Thought he wiped those out years ago, but then again, bandits are dumb and try to make things their own way. 

"A-Anyway, I usually go to the wreck for supplies...and we found, well Lunastra did, a flashdrive that had an A.I. but we didn't think it would contain you in general." She finished as Jack just kept staring at her with a blank look. "....so Helios is gone, then? How long was that?" He asked, starting to pace from one screen to another. Rogue refused to look at the CEO in the eye and Lunastra was behind Lily, but her tail was curled around her protectively. 

"....seven years." 

That made Jack stop in his tracks. Seven years since he's been gone!? He growled in frustration and ran a hand through his hair before looking over at her shelves filled with Hyperion. "....somethin' tells me you're overstocked, kitten. And why don't you go to the other brands? Like those Maliwannabes?" He asked, which that made Lily narrowed her eyes at that brand. "That's because they're a shitty brand!" 

Jack blinked at her response before letting a small snort. "....alright, that I can agree with you. You got a name?" He asked, leaning forward a bit. "Lilian, but I go by Lily for short. This is Rogue and Lunastra." She gestured to the robot and the saurian. Jack didn't seem to care about the dinosaur that was growling at him, but more interested in the Hyperion bot that stood beside her. "...thought they were wiped out with Helios." He gestured to the bot, which Lily just shrugged, but smiled up at Rogue. 

"Found him a year back as a bandit decoration at their camps. I put him back together and he's been with me ever since." She pat Rogue's chassis, which got a happy beep in response."Besides, I'm got this stuff because I'm leaving in a few days to go to the Crimson Raiders." She pulls out a flyer that had a wanting for new members that was lead by Lilith, the Fire Hawk. Jack just huffed in response before looking away.

"I'm only going because I'm tired of hearing those Calypso Twins making a livestream of every kill they do and they're up to something that Lilith is suppose to explain when I get to the base." She saw that Jack was still not looking at her or responding. 

Lily looks over at Lunastra before looking back at the A.I. on her computer screen. "Uhh--" 

"Shush. Thinking here." Jack held a finger up to her while not looking at her, which made Lily give an annoyed look in return. It was silence for a few moments before nodding to himself and looks at Lily. "Alright, pumpkin. I'm gonna make you a deal. As you can see, I won't be able to get stuff done if I'm stuck like this and wouldn't it be hilarious if I can give the scare of so many people when they see I am back from the dead. So if you can find me a body and it has to be Handsome like myself, I will help you out with your stuff. You scratch my back, I scratch yours, get the memo?" 

Lily blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Do I need to repeat it again, dum-dum? Find me a body and I help you with this bullshit you got going." He said annoyed, his eyes narrowed down at Lily. She glanced over at Rogue who just blinked in response. "I mean...I get it....but how the hell am I suppose to find a body if they're mostly destroyed? They made sure that there were no traces of you anywhere after your death." 

He blinks at that. 

"...I'll think as I go. So we got a deal or not? Because I will get what I want either way." 

Lily glanced over at Jack before looking down. On one hand, people will become paranoid if Jack did come back from the dead and he might do more things to Pandora and the people that lived on there. On the other hand, she can work beside the once most powerful man in the galaxy and probably learn a few tricks with the Hyperion weapons she has got. 

"...Well? I'm waiting on an answer, kiddo." 

Lily took a deep breath and sighed. "....If I help you...what will you do if I find a body for you?" She asked. Jack smirked and casually shrugged. "I'll let ya go...or not, I'll think of something when we get to that. So we got a deal then?" He smirked. Lily nods. "....it's a deal." He brightened up a bit as he clasp his hands together. "Alrighty then, Team Handsome is a go! But first thing is that I'm gonna need to be in something because I'm not staying in this computer while you have the fun. You got anything that can be used to transport me in without a hassle?" 

Lily blinked at his whole attitude before thinking. Rogue backed away from the group, which made Jack rolled his eyes. "As much as I want to be in a brand that I created, I don't like that shade of yellow you got going there." He waved his hand at the bot, also thinking. Lily then glanced down at her cybernetic arm before nodding. "...I got a port on my cybernetic here. Would that work?" She asked, rolling her sleeve up to reveal it. Jack whistled a bit. "And to think I thought you were some softie, but you got some fight in ya from that little robo arm you got going there. That'll do for now. But be aware of this, pumpkin. Once you set me in, you'll be the only that can see me unless you place me in a different machine." 

"Basically, you'll make people think I've gone off the deep end and think I'm talking to myself?" She asked, a flat look on her face which made the older man laugh. "Oooh, this is gonna be a fun relationship, you and me. Place me in there, Lils." He said as Lily starts to unplug the small flashdrive out from her computer. She breathes deeply before opening a slot and placing the flashdrive in, the system pulling the drive in and closing the port. 

Jack's figure flickered in front of Lily, which he smirked down at Lily, her head only reaching up to his chest. "...you're a lot shorter than I thought." 

"Don't make fun of my height!" She growled, making Lunastra and Rogue jerk back at her sudden outburst, earning yet another laugh from the older man. She took a deep breath and looks at her Echo, seeing the time as it was already getting late. "Look, we have to be ready in a few days. I just gotta make adjustments to the shields I'm bringing." She glanced at Lunastra and pets her head. "Get some sleep....we've got a few busy days ahead of us before the real one begins." 

She blinked when saw her Echo flickered and saw how Jack was looking through her photos. "Seriously!? You still have a picture of yourself in this lame ghetto!?" He laughed as he saw a picture of Lily in a multi-colored dress. 

"Get out of my pictures you piece of shit!" 

"Language!" 

"I don't care, get out of there!"

* * *

Rogue was deactivated as a hologram showed of his battery charging up for the journey, Lily fast asleep against Lunastra as she lets her use her side and belly as a pillow, curling up around Lily as she breathes softly in her sleep. 

Jack remained awake, however as he glanced at his current situation. So he's an A.I. once again, that was fine. He can still hack things if he wanted to. He doesn't have a company anymore, which was a downside but that doesn't mean he can still kick ass like a bandit killer he was. He's stuck with a girl, a Saurian and a worn out Hyperion bot...which he will take a half-and-half on that as a good thing and bad thing. 

Lily seemed pretty mouthy and many people don't stand up to Jack like that unless they want a bullet in their head. But she seemed stubborn, so he will have to put up with that. At least the arguments can be amusing for him. Hopefully they can find a body for him if he wanted to come back in all of his glory. 

....that is if he can find one. 


	2. Crimson Raiders

**Chapter 2: Crimson Raiders**

Lily has gotten ready as a bag was over her shoulder, Lunastra casually cleaning her clawed hand before running it over her face and frills as they wait for their pickup. Rogue kept glancing around while shifting from one foot to the other. It seemed peaceful enough for her as there was nothing but silence, hearing a bird screeching in the distance....that is....

...until a blue hand was going in and out of her cheek, making her have a flat look on her face. "Jack, stop it." 

"What? I'm bored!" He said, casually floating in front of her with his hands now behind his head, crossing his legs while smirking down at her. She rolled her eyes at the older man as she shifted the bag up more. "I swear, you are like dealing with a five year old. Can't you act your age?" She asked, still giving him an annoyed look. All the A.I. could do was shrug casually, a smirk on his face still. "Never stopped me when I ruled Hyperion, cupcake. I can act how I want, when I want and people don't question it." 

"But guess where Helios is now, buddy? No longer in the sky from what I can see." She snark back, a smirk on her face as she watched Jack narrowed her eyes at her, now standing while he looked down at her. "You are very lucky I am an A.I. right now, kiddo because if it that wasn't the case, I would have strangled you for that comment." He said, pointing to her chest while keeping eye contact with her. Lily also had her eyes narrowed before she could hear an engine from the distance. 

Both Jack and Lily glanced over to see a bus coming towards them from a distance, dust picking up from the tires as it speeds towards them before slowly coming to a halt, hearing a metal screech as the door came open. A very large man was driving the bus, but was smiling down at Lily. "Ah, you are newest Vault Hunter, yes? Name's Marcus, don't let the name wear out." He chuckled, then spotted the Saurian and robot. "Your large friends can ride on the trailer with Moze's machinery. Makes more room for passengers." He gestured to the back. 

Lily leaned back to see the trailer, along with a giant gunner bot as was deactivated for the time being. Lily gestured Rogue and Lunastra to the trailer and they both went without a fight, sitting beside the large mech as Lily entered the bus. As she did, she could see four other people, making her already nervous of the others. Jack glanced down at her when he saw her frozen. "Get a move on, kitten." Lily blinked from her trance before she sits at the back of the bus, the vehicle slowly starting to move until it was back up to speed. 

As the ride goes on, Lily already knew the others that were on the bus. 

Amara was a Siren. Lily had never seen a siren or met one before and she could tell that Amara was proud of being one as her tattoos glows, spirit like hand appearing as she gives out a fist bump to one of the vault hunters. Then there was Moze, a gunner of what belonged to a powerful mech team until she left with her robot which she called 'Bear' as she was getting ammo fit into her weapons. Zane was an operative, his expertise on shields and digital clones while giving the others a laugh in the group. She remembered hearing a story about his older brothers being part of the assassinations before he giving it a quit. Finally, there was FL4K, a beast master that had a Jabber, a Skag and a Spiderant as his companions. He mostly kept to himself but express of how every hunt has a beginning and an end, but he will enjoy this one the most. 

Jack flinched back a bit when FL4K's Spiderant walked up to them, letting out a small screech to Lily as her leg casually scratched the ground. Lily simply smiled before she leaned her hand down and gives it a gentle scratch under the chin, the animal practically melting under her touch as it lets out a purr of approval. Lily smiled before giving the head a gentle pat. "Such a good girl..." 

"She is fond of you." 

Lily glanced up at FL4K as he observe's the Spiderant's reaction to the head and chin rubs she was getting. "Not many know of how to make a Spiderant melt under a human's touch." He replied. Lily smiled at the Beastmaster in response. "My uncle use to own a Spiderant farm years ago. One of them was fond of me until it died from old age. I remember it being a large one, but that's about it." She said, giving the Spiderant one last head pat before it went back to FL4K. 

"So, what's special trick do you got up your sleeve, lass?" Zane asked, the others looking at her. Lily felt frozen at the spot as she tries to think up an answer. Jack huffed while rolling his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "....a tamer! Y-Yeah, a tamer!" Lily said, smiling slightly while the A.I. gave her a weird look. "...really, that's the best you can come up with, Lils?" 

"Tamer, huh? Better than some of people that come with their titles. At least yours is simple. Good, but yet simple at the same time." Amara smirked, Moze glancing up before filling up her sniper rifle that was a Torgue brand. "So what's your story with that Hyperion bot back there? Not many run these days." Moze questioned, but not looking up. Lily blinked before looking behind her to glance at the trailer. Rogue had Lunastra in his lap, both of them glancing at Moze's giant gun mech before the Saurian laid her head back down, Rogue petting her gently with his metal claws. 

"I found him a year back in one of the bandit camps. He was being used as a decoration, but I saw something more in him. So I took him back, patched him up the best I could, and he's been with me since then. He acts like a mother hen sometimes, but he's my best friend along with Lunastra and..." She nearly spilled out Jack's name before glancing back at the older man with a pleading look on her face. She couldn't give him away, not yet. Plus Jack want to reveal himself his way and they have no idea how to do that since many of his tracks were gone from the galaxy, people wanting to forget about him. 

"And...?" Moze asked, the others looking at her as well with curiosity. She tries to think. "...J! My A.I, friend J. He's a new addition to my team." She smiled, Jack jerking back at that sudden name. _"....J? Really?"_ Jack thought, huffing a bit while looking away from Lily with annoyance. "He's a special case because he's linked to my cybernetic. Only I can see and hear him." She chuckled nervously. The Vault Hunters gave her a weird look before going back to chatting with each other. Lily sighs deeply as she leaned back. 

"...so that went well..." Jack shrugged, but was chuckling at the situation. 

"You're not helping." Lily grumbled, a hand over her eyes. Lily already made a fool of herself, and she didn't want anymore coming from Jack. She then heard a voice in her head. **_"Take it easy there, killer. Everyone is different."_** A female voice said and Lily blinked, sitting up straighter. "...did you hear that?" She asked, looking around. "Uhh, heard what, kitten? I didn't hear anything." 

" ** _You wouldn't be the only one getting shock from hearing this in your head. My name is Lilith. I already talked to the others. We will chat soon enough until we get to our destination."_** The voice disappeared again as Lily looked around, somewhat freaked out from the voice she just heard, then jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Amara looking at her. "Take it easy. That was Lilith...I could tell because you were freaking out kinda like the rest of us had earlier." She gives out an encouraging smile and Lily could only nod in response. 

"...I didn't know that she could do that..." Amara just chuckled and leaned back into her seat. "Many sirens have different skills, especially when we can communicate with people telepathically. But you seemed to taken it a lot better than I thought. At least you weren't like Zane when he first heard it." She chuckled, making Lily look over at the operative. "Really? What happened?" 

Zane remained silent, a slight blush on his face.

"He claimed he went off the deep end and tried to whack his head in with a pan Marcus carries around." Moze chuckled before Zane looked at them all. "Hey! I have seen weird shite in my day! And ladies that talk in me head was not one of them!" They all chuckled at Zane's response, Lily snickering a bit. She then glanced over at Jack as Zane tries to prove himself of what he reacted was normal for him. "Can sirens really do that?" She asked, Jack glancing at her sideways before shrugging. 

"Some, yeah...but not all of 'em. I only met three sirens in my life and only six can exist in one universe." He said, closing his eyes while leaning into the seat next to Lily. "....how come?" She asked. Jack opened one eye at Lily, huffing in annoyance. "Kid, I'm not some psychologist or anythin'...only six can exist, that's how the world works." He doesn't talk about it anymore and Lily just huffed before looking out the window. 

* * *

Marcus drops off the hunters as Lunastra and Rogue stood next to Lily. They can see a large building that seemed to be abandoned a long time ago, but Lily can see that there were bandit activities here. "...this is our stop?" Lily asked, looking at the group as Marcus drove his vehicle away. FL4K nods as he looks at the building, a Rakk perched on his shoulder before flying off. "This is it." He said. 

That's when they could hear a tiny wheel towards them and Lily could see a look on Jack's face at the source. "....goddammit...." He mumbled, burying his head in his hands as Lily looks at him confused. "...J? What's wrong?" She asked, using his nickname for the time being until they were alone. As she looks to see what he was cursing about, she could tell immediately. "...oh no...." 

It was a Claptrap unit. 

It was humming a happy tune before spotting the Vault Hunters. "Hello, new recruits! I am Claptrap! And I am here to show you the new secret hideout! Onward my minions!" He pointed to the building as he tries to lead them. They all look at each other with confusing looks. "...I thought the Claptrap units were all destroyed when Jack took over Helios." Zane whispered to Lily. Lily just shrugged in response. 

"...apparently I missed one...." Jack mumbled, silently kicking while sulking that he has to deal with an annoying robot once more. "...guess he missed one..." Lily said as they all followed the small robot as he kept humming a happy tune, making fake karate moves, the hunters following him normally. Lily looks over at Jack, who seemed to be still sulking about the small robot. "Is your....friend....okay?" FL4K said, seeing Lily looking at her side where no one was standing at. She glanced over at FL4K. "....Lemme get back with you on that...." Lily said. 

She tries to pat Jack's shoulder, but then saw it went through, making Jack coming out of his trance and look at her. "Sorry....tried to make you feel better." She said. He just looks at her before looking away. "...appreciate the gesture, kitten...even when it was a failed attempt." He chuckled, which Lily smiled a little that his attitude lightened a bit. Not much, but it was a good start. "Lilith! I have gotten the minions like you have requested!" He said. 

"....do you always have to sound enthusiastically?" Lily asked, making the unit turn around to look at her. "I would change it, but my chip was built to make me sound happy all the time! Despite being sad!" He said cheerfully. Lily and Jack glanced at each other with an eye brow raised. Jack slowly raised his hand up, about to say something. "J, don't even think about it." She said, Jack giving her an annoyed look. "You don't even know what I was gonna do!" 

"You were going to do something to him that would most likely not end well!" 

"No I wasn't...I mean, not really...." Lily was giving him a look, an eyebrow raised at him. "Don't give me that look! Only I can give you that look!" He growled, throwing his hands up before turning his back to her. Lily turned over to see the Vault Hunters looking at her with a weird look and she just smiled sheepishly. "...he likes to hack stuff and I wasn't going to let him." She chuckled nervously. 

They suddenly heard a roaring sound before a bright red light appeared in front of them, revealing to be the Fire Hawk, Lilith. She stood up as the flamed wings slowly disappeared from her back as she smirked at them. "Hey there, killers. My name is Lilith. You all the new Vault Hunters?" She asked. They all nodded as Jack merely rolled his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Let me brief you all on what we're dealing with. As you can see, there is a new cult going on, killing hundreds of people along getting bandit followers." Lily looks to see a large cardboard cutout of the Twins, Tyreen and Troy Calypso, the leaders of the COV. "And there are after something called 'The Great Vault.'" That made Lily stop in her tracks. "The Great Vault? Isn't that a myth?" Lily asked, speaking up for the others. "Not sure...but apparently they need Vault Keys to get to it. Real or not real, we need to stop them. Can I count on you all?" 

The Vault hunters nodded. 

As the others talked to Lilith, she looks over at Jack as Lily feeds Lunastra a piece of meat that FL4K given her. "...is there such thing as a Great Vault?" She asked, Jack sitting next to her. "There is, yeah...but it takes more than some mere Vault Keys to open it, kiddo. You need at least gallons of Eridium to open it." He leaned back as Lily watched him. "Eridium can do stuff to you, kid. Make you open stuff, get some effects both good and bad, and sometimes leave some...consequences." He looks at her. "Take it from someone who opened a few vaults, they do stuff to you." 

She looks at him and saw him not talking about it, a blank look on her face. She went back to petting Lunastra while feeding her as she licked her hand, purring softly while leaning into Lily's petting. Lily heard footsteps coming towards her before and saw Lilith coming towards her. "Names Lily, right? Didn't think we would nearly have the same name." She chuckled, sitting next to her and held her hand out to Lunastra. 

The Saurian sniffed her hand and lets the Siren pet her. "So what's your story? Why do you wanna join the Crimson Raiders?" Lilith asked, looking at her with a smile on her face. Lily blinked in response before shrugging. "Life was getting a little dull, just wanted a little adventure and saw an opportunity when I saw the flyer." She smiled, looking at Rogue as he walked up to her and slowly sat down. "Were you a Hyperion worker before Helios went down?"

"Nah...worked for Maliwan for a few years before quitting. Their health insurance was shit and the boss wanted a go at me, so I kicked him where it hurts instead." She chuckled. That got a chuckle from the Fire Hawk and clasp her hand on her shoulder. "So you ain't afraid of kicking Maliwan ass if we see them?" She asked. Lily nods at her, smiling as well. "If it means I can hit them where it hurts, then let them come." 

Lilith chuckled once again. "Like that attitude, killer. Don't lose that." She pats her shoulder once more before getting up and talked to the others. When Lily turned to Jack, she noticed him looking at her oddly. "...what?"

"You didn't tell me you worked for Maliwan." He said, sitting up more while staring at her, then at her cybernetic arm where the sleeve covers most of it up to her wrist. "Did you get your arm there or...?" Lily shook her head. "Nah, made it myself. I mean...I use to have one, but the damn thing kept malfunctioning and the doctors at Maliwan kept making one excuse to another. Do you know how hard it is to function and do daily work with just one arm? So, I told them to kiss my ass, quit and made a new one." She leaned back, letting the Saurian lay her head on her lap. 

"I mean, I didn't think it would matter if people knew that I worked for them...they're a bunch of pansies anyway. They're all bark but no bite." That got a chuckle from Jack as he stood up, Lily glancing at the AI before seeing Lunastra's head perk up suddenly, now on full alert. 

"What is it, girl?" Lily asked, also standing up. She starts to bare her teeth, growling lowly before running towards something and tackled something, hearing a yell from outside. The yelling got everyone's attention as Lily came out to see a psycho from the COV on the ground as Lunastra had him pinned, her teeth sinking into his neck while her claws and feet dug into his back. "Call it off! Call it off!" He yelled out. 

Lily had her eyes narrowed as she walked towards them. "Lunastra, Hold." Lunastra stopped trying to dig her teeth more into his neck, but didn't let go. "Mind telling me why you try to do a sad and yet very stupid attempt to assassinate us in our base?" She asked, her eyes still narrowed as the man growled, not answering her. "The twin gods will lead us to the vault! And will bring death to the Vault Thieves! Long live the Calypsos!" Lily glanced over at Lilith, who nods. 

"...Lunastra. Prey." 

Lunastra growls louder before chomping down hard onto the man's neck, snapping it before letting go. 

"Good girl." Lily pats Lunastra, who was licking the blood off of her maw and claws, then looks at the Vault Hunters. She doesn't say anything before walking past them. Jack was looking at her, but was grinning. "Good job, kid. You got her trained up really good." He gestured to the Saurian, who shook her head rapidly. Lily just shrugged in response. "She may be a Saurian, but she knows commands really well." 

......

...... 

"The Sun Smashers?" Lily asked, Lilith talking to her in private after the fiasco with the lone COV bandit that tried to assassinate them. Lilith nods and held out a map of the Pandora valley with most of the bandit outposts that was recorded. "Yes. They apparently have a vault key that the Calypso are after, so I need you to go there and get the key from them. And see if they can join us." 

Lily nods and adjusted the shotgun strap over her shoulder and whistled for Lunastra when she entered outside of the camp. Lunastra looks at her and purred, then looks over at Rogue. "I want you to stay here, Rogue in case more bandits come. They can use your fire support." Lily said, then adjusted the harness on Lunastra. Jack appeared and then looks at Lily. "....okay, what are you doing?" 

"As much as I like driving than any other person...Saurian riding is the best to go in style." Lily smiled before hopping on the Saurian's back. Lunastra purred and looks back at Lily. "She's fine with it and we do it all the time." Lily smiled, patting the Saurian's side as she lets out a chirp roar. Jack crossed his arms. "What sane person doesn't like driving? You can vent all of your angers out on people in front of you as you run them over!" He laughed a little and Lily rolled her eyes. 

"I never said I hate driving. I just prefer Saurian riding." She shrugged before adjusting herself on Lunastra's back and then gave a gentle nudge on her side with her leg. Lunastra started to walk forward before starting to run, Jack's image flickering back into her arm. They start to make their way to the Sun Smasher's camp to find the leader and hopefully to convince them to hand over the vault key. 


	3. The Calypso Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lily, Jack and Rogue head to the Sun Smasher's camp to meet their leader, but there something that has happened and they're about to face a bigger threat.

**Chapter 3: The Calypso Twins**

Lunastra came to a halt, snorting as Lily got off of the Saurian. Jack's AI flickered beside her before appearing, looking at the Sun Smasher's logo as it dangles helplessly above them, creaking back and forth before it finally falls in front of them. "...that's usually a bad sign..." Lily muttered before getting her shotgun out. Jack just merely rolled his eyes and walked beside her, Lunastra sniffing around. 

"So what do you think their leader is like?" Lily asked, trying to make a conversation. "Don't know, don't care. Let's get what we came for." Lily can tell that he was still a little pissed off from earlier. "Are you still pissed off that there's a Claptrap unit still alive?" She asked him. 

"No." 

"Don't lie, Jack." 

"I'm not lying." 

"Just get over it already. One is alive and it's gonna be like that, okay?" 

He just rolled his eyes, huffing as the conversation dropped. Lily rolled her eyes at Jack before adjusting her shotgun in her hands before hearing a voice through her ECHO. 

" _H-Hello!? Can anyone hear me!?"_ A male voice cried out. Lily tilts her head. "Uhh....you wouldn't happen to be part of the Sun Smashers clan, wouldn't you? Because I really need to talk to the leader if you do know them." She asked, Lunastra chasing a Tink that was hiding from them, hearing his screams as Lunastra gave chase, roaring as Jack watched for his amusement. 

" _Y-Yeah! Yeah! Head to where I am at! I'll explain everything!"_ The mysterious man said before her Echo turned off. Lily heard a crunch as saw Lunastra managed to catch the Tink that was trying to escape her, the body in her jaws as she shook it rapidly, growling before looking at Lily. "Drop it." Lily said softly, the Saurian dropping the corpse and walked over to her. "Lunastra, sniff out." She lets out another command. 

Lunastra perked her head up and immediately went to work. Jack raised an eyebrow at that before glancing back at her. "Okay, what did you make her do?" He asked, watching the dinosaur sniff the ground. "If you want to sniff something out, use a Saurian. Better than a Skag, they can smell humans many miles away. Why do you think I chose a Saurian?" She chuckled, Lunastra now sniffing the air before starting to run and roar. "See? She got something." 

Both Jack and Lily went to the source and was surprised at the scene. 

It was a man. 

Only wearing an underwear and a cape, hanging by his feet from a chain. "Hey! A little help?" 

Lily and jack blinked at him in response, still trying to understand what they were seeing infront of them. "Umm...did they....take your clothes for humiliation or....?" Lily tried to ask, looking at the man. "Nah, bro! This is my outfit! Ya know, bandit life!" He smiled, shrugging before letting his arms go limp. Lily blinks again in shock, before shaking her head and shot the chain that binds the man. He falls down, landing flat on his back before standing up. 

Lily and Jack hissed in pain, wincing from the man's impact. 

"Okay, okay, I'm good. Th-Thanks, man! A-Anyway, what are you doing here? You here to join the Sun Smashers? Because my clan left to join the COV." He said, stretching his back before flexing his arm after being hanging upside down for so long. "Wait...you're their leader?" Lily asked, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. He nods, smiling. "Yeah! Name's Vaughn! I'm the chief of the Sun Smashers!" He said. 

Even Jack looked at the man shocked. He knew him! "That's Vaughn!? Wait-wait-wait-wait, how did muscles come from a tiny accountant of Hyperion to...this!?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. Lily glanced at Jack by the corner of her eye before looking at Vaughn. "O-Okay, so Vaughn. Umm...we are with Lilith from the Crimson Raider. We've heard rumor that your clan has gotten a Vault Key." 

Vaughn looks at her surprised. "W-Wait, you're with Lilith!? Oh man, I use to run with her back in the day--wait, you said Vault key? Ugh, I told my clan not to mess with that stuff! Well, if you're here for it, you're a bit late...my clan took it to the Broadcast center that's run by the Calypso Twins as a sacrifice." Lily groans in frustration before she calls Lilith on her Echo. "Hey, it's Lily. Yeah, I'm here with the Sun Smasher war chief....no, they don't have it...his clan took it up to the broadcast center. Yeah...." Lily was walking to a corner. 

Vaughn looks at Lunastra, who was sniffing him curiously before she shook her head rapidly while letting out a sneeze. "This, uhh, Saurian won't bite me, right?" Vaughn asked, slowly holding his hand out but flinching away when Lunastra tried to sniff his hand. Lily glanced at her. "She's trying to get your scent. She won't bite you unless you give her a reason to." Lily called out before talking to Lilith once more. 

Lunastra circled Vaughn, sniffing him before letting out a snort when she saw his hand come towards her. "Uhh..g-good girl..." He stutters, looking away as he hold his hand out to her. Lunastra looks at his hand before hurring, pressing her snout against the palm of his hand. A soft purr rumbles into her throat as Lily hangs up, smiling at the Saurian's attitude. "She's purring; she doesn't do that for anyone. I just finished talking with Lilith. We have a temporary base and she wants to know more about the Broadcast center." 

Vaughn perked his head up at that. "Y-Yeah! Absolutely! I know a shortcut!" He starts to lead the way before Lily could say anything. She then looks over at Jack, who just shrugs. "...define shortcut on Pandora..." Lily mumbles under her breath before running after Vaughn. 

* * *

"It's good to see you Vaughn." Lilith chuckled as Vaughn came to meet them, Lily following behind before she placed her hands on her knees, gasping softly. "For a short man...you run fast....fuck...." Lily gasped, trying to catch her breath. Jack reappeared next to Lily, casually floating with his arms crossed over his chest. "Language, kitten." He chuckled. She was about to snap at Jack to shove it, but then realized that they were with Lilith and Vaughn, so she kept her mouth shut. 

"So what is this Broadcast center?" Lilith asked, glancing over at Vaughn. "Oh, it's a radio station just outside of Ascension Bluff. They call it the 'Holy Broadcast Center' that's controlled by a psycho named Mouthpiece. That's where the twins hold most of their auditions to join the COV. And that's exactly what my clan did; they tied me up, took the alien tech and heading up to the broadcast center." 

Lily and Lilith glanced at each other. "Ascension's Bluff is not a walk in a park, Lilith. That's got 'bandits' written all over it." Lily commented, adjusting her shotgun over her shoulder. Lilith glanced at Vaughn before looking back at Lily. "Okay, killer. Go to someone named Ellie, she can hook you up with a catch-a-Ride. I know you prefer your Saurian, but this is just to be double sure. Like you said, that place has bandits all over." 

Lily knows that Lilith has got a point and she sighs. "Alright. I'll go to Ellie's and talk to her. I need to bring Rogue with me. Can use the fire power." She chuckled before heading off, whistling for Lunastra as she follows. Lily then whistled for Rogue and he perked up happily, marching towards her. 

"We gotta speak to Ellie. She can hook us up with a vehicle." Lily said before they made their journey to Ellie, Jack appearing again. "Why the long face, pumpkin? Can't ride your favorite dino anymore?" He chuckled, leaning back. Lily gives him a glare. "You are really starting to piss me off, Jack. Now I can see why people try to get to you a lot." Lily growled. 

"What did I say about language?" He asked, scowling down at her. 

"I'm 28!" She growled, making Jack jerk his head back, a small surprise look on his face. "...no way you're 28..." He said suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. Lily's gaze soften a bit, but not a lot as she adjust her shotgun and rifle. "I am 28. Why, did you thought I was younger?" She asked, glancing back at him. Rogue just vaguely watched them, but kept his guard up for anything that can pop out at them. "Well...yeah. I mean, I thought you were like, what, 21 or something...." 

Lily lets out a sad chuckle. "Oh, if I had every penny in the universe that said that to me....probably would be almost just as rich as you were." She chuckled. That earned a chuckle from the older man. "Yeah, keep dreaming pumpkin. No one can be as handsomely rich as me. And I should know...I was rich when I was young and alive. From one day, you're a Engineer of Hyperion, then became the freakin' king of Hyperion. That doesn't come on a platter that easily." 

Lily glanced at him. "Wait...you were a Engineer?"

"Mostly cybernetic stuff, yeah, and I still am the best one there is. So if you got a glitch going on in that arms of yours, I'm your man...well, AI....you get the idea..." He grumbled at the last bit. 

They start to make their way to a garage that said 'Ellie's garage' and they could hear someone talking. Lily got her shotgun out, taking cautious steps, the voices getting louder and louder. "So what did you say you were goin' ta do ta my friend, Lil?" A female voice said. Lily slowly peered around the corner of a building and was surprise at the sight, lowering her gun, Rogue doing the same as well. 

There was a bandit strapped to a wheel, slowly rotating as a lather large woman was pacing back and forth with a switch in one hand. "The calypso will tear her apart! The god twins will lead us--" 

**BOOM!**

Lily jerked back when the bandit suddenly exploded when the woman flipped the switch, the lower torso and legs only remained on the wheel. "Oops, my fingers slip." She chuckled before turning over to Lily. "Oh, hey there, hon! Didn't see ya there! Lilith told me you were coming! It's Lily, right?" She asked, her body now relaxing and more friendly, making Lily's guard relax a bit. 

"Yeah...and you must be Ellie? And here to think that I was gonna shoot him for smart mouthing at you...but I guess you got that covered." She gestured to the bandit's corpse that just now fell from the wheel. "Well aren't you a sweet thing. I've grown up here so I am use to the locals." Ellie chuckled before leading Lily through the junkyard. "So you here for a vehicle?" Ellie asked, looking back at her. 

"Yeah. Lilith said you could hook us up with one."

That got a huff from Ellie. "Wish I had good news for ya, hon. But bandits robbed my last two I had for you Vault Hunters just a bit awhile ago. But if you can hijack one, I can register it to the catch-a-ride system fer ya. That is if ya don't mind gettin' yer hands dirty." She chuckled at the last bit. Lily just smirked and held her shotgun. "Tell me where they are and I'll catch them." 

Ellie smirked at Lily before gesturing her head to the opening that leads to a racetrack. "You can find a car or two down there, kill the bandits if you want or run 'em over. Get a vehicle and I'll hook you up with a Catch-a-Ride." She looks over at Rogue and Lunastra before smirking. Ellie then walked over to the bandit corpse she just killed and grabs a dismembered arm. That got Lunastra's attention as Ellie tossed it to the Saurian. 

The Saurian catches it in the air, munching on it happily. 

"Rogue, Luna...you two stay here. I'll be back before you know it." Lily smiled, rolling her shoulders a bit to relax as she went further into Ellie's junkyard. "Don't you worry, hun. They're in good hands!" Ellie called out to Lily, which she waved her hand in response. "...I like her." She chuckled a bit once they were far enough, Jack reappearing beside her. "Of course you would, kitten....but I'll admit...she's not bad." Jack shrugged in response. As they go further, killing a few COV's along the way, Lily then can hear engines running along with bandits yelling and cheering. 

Lily crouched a little and peered over a car, seeing two vehicles going around the track with bandits driving them. Lily nods to herself before pulling out a sniper rifle, loading it up before holding it gently, looking through the scope. 

"...you're gonna hurt your arm if you hold it like that, pumpkin." Lily glanced over at Jack, a somewhat confused look on her face as the older man sighed before kneeling beside her. "It's gonna bruise you if you don't got a good grip on it. Here." He moved his hand a bit, and Lily jolts a bit when her prosthetic starts to move on her own and saw Jack moving it so the bottom was resting against her elbow and lower arm. "Now adjust your grip on the muzzle...yeah like that." He watches Lily move her flesh hand up a bit. 

"Now make sure you grip is good and tight or it will go flying out of your hands." He was knelt beside her as he watched the bandits, then focused on Lily who was looking through the scope. "Relax...deep breath and when you got your mark....release...." Lily nods, taking a deep breath, her finger on the trigger. 

She fires her shot. 

It hits one the bandit drivers in the chest, making the car swerve out of control and hits the other car, crashing into a pile of tires that it made all of the bandits fell out, an electric barrel going off and electrocutes them until they were fried up, the other car driving off the cliff and crashed, killing the others. 

Lily and Jack blinked in surprise of the result. 

"....good shot, kiddo." He tries to pat her shoulder, but it goes through her instead. 

"...wasn't expecting that kind of result..." 

"Yeah? But take it either way, right?" He chuckled as he walked over to the car, Lily putting away her sniper rifle and walks over. "Well...at least the car is in good shape. I don't think the barrel damaged it either." She said, then saw the bandit still in the driver seat, dead from the bullet wound to the chest. She nods to herself and managed to pull the corpse out of the vehicle and got into the driver seat. 

"You do know how to drive, right?" Jack asked, glancing at her when she saw her hesitate for a minute. "Uhh...I'm use to the Technician...had them all the time back on Eden-6, so it's been a moment since I've drove an Outrunner. Works better on the terrain than the other vehicles, but haven't tried the Cyclones yet. Heard they were fast." She said, then noticed a look on Jack's face. "...what?" 

"I thought you were born on Pandora." 

"I was, yeah, but then I moved to Eden-6 for a few years then moved back to Pandora. Eden-6 is where I got Lunastra at and she didn't want me to leave her so I let her come with me. She's been my partner for a very long time." Lily smiled before starting the vehicle, the engine roaring with life as Lily starts to drive out of the track. 

.....

.....

"Lookat you, hon! Ya got the vehicle back! Those bandits didn't cause ya trouble, did they?" Ellie asked as Lily pulled up to the garage and parked the car. Lily smiled at her sheepishly before hopping out. "Yeah...but one of the cars drove off the cliff when I was trying to get one. Sorry about that." Lily smiles a bit, but was looking down in guilt. Ellie just smiled and pats her shoulder. "It's alright, hon. At least you got one back in peace, so that's all that matters. Let me get this register and I'll let ya be on your way. And since you managed ta kill them bandits...I'm gonna add a little somethin' fer yer troubles." 

"N-No, Ellie. You don't have to do that." Lily tried to say, but Ellie shook her head. "Hon, it's fine. It's the least I can do." She types a few things in the system before resummoning the vehicle and Lily noticed how there was an extra seat in the back. 

"In case you want ta carry yer robot friend around, he can fit into the back. Ya'll are hooked up an' ready to go! You tell Lilith that the ship is almost done!" She said as Lily got into the vehicle, Lunastra on the shooter seat and Rogue, who struggled a bit, got into the back seat. Lily nods at her before starting to drive off to Ascension's Bluff.

* * *

It was a silent ride for them all, Vaughn briefed on them a few minutes ago of the Calypso Twins usually doing livestreams when they get new volunteers and then warned her about Mouthpiece. 

"So he uses loud speakers to high volume and frequency so high that they exlpode...didn't think that was possible." Lily said, pulling up to the gate of the Holy Broadcast center. Jack appears as Lunastra gets out and Rogue walked beside her. 

"I know, right!? But many things can be used as a weapon when it comes to psychos on Pandora. I heard that one actually killed a tink by shoving a shoe in his mouth." Vaughn said, making Lily jerk back a little but then shook it off. "...I wouldn't be surprise if a spoon was used as a weapon." Lily mumbled under her breath, but then heard Jack snorting a bit, covering his mouth as he glanced a way, trying to silence a chuckle. 

"...Jack?" 

Jack's shoulders were shaking, trying to contain his laughter.

"...Jack, you didn't....did-did you really kill someone with a spoon!?" 

Jack immediately starts laughing. "I-I'm sorry, it's-it's just that..." He starts to double over in laughter, his hands on his knees as Lily looks at him with shock. "Uhh, you okay? You've gone quiet..." Vaughn asked. Lily glanced down at her comm. "I'll get back to you on that. I'll...update you on my progress." She hangs up on Vaughn, looking at Jack as he starts to calm down a bit from his laughing. 

"...did you really kill someone with a spoon?" Lily asked. Jack could only smirk in response. "Well, I sorta did...but I only gauge his eyes out and..." He starts to laugh again, "He's all bumping into stuff and I...was just dying in laughter because he came up to me and tries to kill _me_ with a spoon, so I just..." He laughs once more, Lily now rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Ohh, if you were only there, Lils then you'll get the idea of how goddamn funny it is." He pretends to wipe tear off of him as he calms down. 

Lily shakes her head once more and shoots off a bandit that tries to rush them, hearing Mouthpiece going off during the livestream and that's when they all heard a female voice. "Hey there, superfans. Tyreen here and we are here to let the Sun Smashers join our family! And guess what!? They also brought a vault key! So lets do a quick shout outs to our fans and let's get this show on the road!" 

Jack jerks his head back at that voice. "Who in the hell was that?"

"That's Tyreen Calypso. She's basically the leader of the COV's with her brother, Troy Calypso. I've never seen them in person, only hear their livestreams, but they're after the vault along with their 'cult'" She air-quotes the word, "So we need to get the map before they use it to open the vault." She enters the building once the threats of the many COV were gone, Lunastra holding a Tink corpse in her mouth while Rogue followed her closely. She then glanced over at Rogue. 

"How are you doing on your ammo, big guy? Still good?" LIly asked. Rogue beeped happily in response, which she pats his chassis. "Don't be shy to pick up any weapons or ammunition if you need any, bud." Rogue beeped happily in response as they venture into the building. Lily had her shotgun out as they were about to pass some speakers. Lunastra perked her head up as her frills flickered, dropping her corpse and grabbed Lily by the back of her shirt with her teeth.   
  


"Lunastra--" She was cut off when the speaker volumes went out and lets out a sonic wave, destroying some of the objects that were around it. Lily blinked in surprise before looking back at the Saurian and pets her. "...good girl." She purrs in response, nuzzling her cheek before going back to the Tink corpse and picks it up, slowly munching on it. Lily then became more careful when she saw speakers surrounded an area, Jack watching Lily throw something to activate the speakers. 

They venture deeper and deeper into the broadcast center before seeing a drop off to a larger room. "...alright...you guys ready?" Lily asked. 

"Technically I can't do anything but move your arm there, so...good luck with that." Jack smirked before disappearing. Lily huffed a bit while rolling her eyes and looks at Rogue and Lunastra. The Saurian was scrapping her clawed feet against the ground, frills flickering back in forth in anticipation while the Hyperion bot reloaded his firearm. This made the younger woman smirked before all three jumped down. 

They could hear organ pipes playing a tune before stopping as Mouthpiece made his appearance, the speakers booming loudly while Tinks come out from their hiding, trying to rush them. Lily lets out a sharp whistle and Lunastra roars before taking care of some of the ticks while Rogue open fired at the others, Lily loading up ammo in her shotgun before firing at Mouthpiece. He holds a soundbar shield up, the bullets ricocheting off into the walls by the speakers. Lily growls under her breath before reloading and kept firing. 

"YOU...WILL...DIE!" Mouthpiece roared out, banging his sword against the ground, the speakers starting to build up sound once again. The Saurian and the Hyperion bot got out of the way as the speakers let out a loud sound wave, the remaining Tinks killed from the sound wave. Lily kept firing at Mouthpiece, Lunastra charging at him before biting down on his arm, making him let go of his shield as he shouts out in pain. He raised his sword up, only for Rogue to blast it out of his hand, the entire hand gone missing as the psycho shouts in agony and pain. 

Lily shoots once again, hitting his shoulder while Lunastra kept dragging his upper body down to the ground, forcing him to kneel before Lily had the barrel of her shotgun at his head. "You may defeat me, Vault Hunter! But the Twins will rule this universe! You will see when the Great Vault--" 

**BOOM!**

Lily blinked, not remembering pulling the trigger and saw Jack appeared next to her again, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ugh, I was tired of him talking so I pulled it....ya did good, kitten. Not gonna lie, but I didn't want to hear that speech again..." Lily just gave him a look before shaking it off, Lunastra letting go of the corpse before seeing something in his back pocket. She lets out a hurr before gently grabbing it with her teeth. 

"What you find there, girl?" Lily asked, putting the gun away as Lunastra placed an object in her hands. Lily tilts her head at the silicone object, Lunastra also titling her head. Rogue was silent before his red eye glowed and scans the object. "Scanning; Pandora Vault Key, but it's energy is drained. Requirement; Siren energy charge." Rogue backs away while Lily blinked. "...I thought Vault keys were suppose to have....a better design....not looking like...uhm..." 

"A piece of crap?" Jack finished for her. 

"Exactly." 

"Well, not many techs that make this stuff can be creative, pumpkin. But...we got what we came for, so--" 

Jack was cut off when a large hologram appeared of the twins, Tyreen and Troy Calypso. "Hey there, superfan! Man, we saw the whole fight and talk about level-headed! I mean, I get some people have a good team, but a dinosaur and some outdated robot, seriously?! I thought you hunters have some class or something!" Tyreen laughed, Lily narrowing her eyes while the Saurian growled, Rogue reloading his gun and aimed at them. 

"Rogue...it's a hologram. Can't hurt them even if we wanted to..." Lily mumbled before looking at them. "What is it that you want? Because I got a tight schedule I need to keep!" Lily growled, putting the Vault Key inside of her jacket while getting her shotgun out again. "What, you takin' the Vault Key? Not that I don't need it now, it's all dead just like those Sun Smashers that brought it to us. We tried to invite them into our family, but all they wanted was money and guns. And-And get this, Troy said the best comeback ever! Tell her, Troy!" 

"Gods don't negotiate." Troy chuckled while adjusting his jacket. 

"Gods don't negotiate! Love that line already! But yeah, they didn't want to join so I did what I normally do best to those that don't want to join." Tyreen chuckled before stepping out the way, "Check the monitor!" Troy said and when they looked, Lily tensed up immediately when she saw Tyreen turned a psycho into a crystal like husk from a touch of her hand, now remembering seeing those husks outside of the broadcast center. 

"So go on ahead! Take the Vault key to the Firehawk, I'll be back later to pick it up anyway." 

"Wait, wait wait...Tyreen, check her weapon..." Troy chuckled and Lily narrowed her eyes at them. "And what do you got against my weapon?" Lily growled, but heard Tyreen laughing. "You are seriously using Hyperion!? You know that brand is like, dead, right? No one ever uses that brand since that damn space station crashed seven years ago." Lily could feel her cybernetic arm twitching, knowing it is not her. 

She knows it is Jack's doing

He was downright pissed. 

"Alright, I'll let you have your fun there, Vault Hunter. And remember, you are my number one super fan." Tyreen cooed before the holograms of the Twins disappeared. Lily had to use her human arm to get her Echo out just because her cybernetic arm kept twitching uncontrollably. "Lilith...I got the Vault Key. I'm heading back now." Lily slowly said. "Good job, killer. Don't lose sight of the key, I already lost it once." The Firehawk said before hanging up. Lily watched Jack appeared by her side once more. 

"Did they seriously said what I think they just said?" 

"Jack, calm down--" 

"No-no-no-no-no, did they just make this personal?"

"Jack--" 

"Ohhh, when I get my body back, I'm gonna make sure they're gonna feel the pain once I choke it out of them really slowly." 

"Jack!" 

The ex CEO of Hyperion stops his ranting and looks at Lily, his expression still angered at how the twins were down-talking a gun brand that remained top of the list for so many years. "And what do they know about weapons! Ask me this, sweetie, when you look at Hyperion guns, what do they offer?" He asked. Lily raised an eyebrow at him and he raised an eyebrow at her in return, expecting an answer. 

"...umm...accuracy? Better shields--" 

"Class, sweetheart. They offer class! You look at those Maliwan, they come up with some pathetic name for their guns like 'The Gosipel' or the 'Provocatuer' and some other pretentious crap. Hell, I am betting you that those stupid C-O...whatever you call them, have a gun that can't even spell 'pistol' right!" Jack ranted on, throwing his hands up in the air while his back was turned to Lily. 

Lily lets out a silent snort, knowing that Maliwan did have...weird names for their guns.

"And I was a top dog on the damn food chain when it comes to guns and I can still kick ass if I wanted to!" Lily rolled her eyes before letting out a sigh. "Look, I get it...you're pissed that they talked down your gun brand. But the sooner we can get this over with, the sooner we can find you a body and let you do what you want...but throwing a tantrum....like a goddamn two year old, isn't helping your case!" She shouted, making the AI turned around to glare at her. 

"Are you trying to piss me off, kitten? Because we need to make things clear between you and me." He waved his arm up and Lily's cybernetic arm and hand were up and Lily then felt the cold metal of her fingers around her neck, but not enough to choke her. "You may have me as an AI for now, but get on my bad side, we are gonna have some problems and I will make sure every day, until we find myself a body, is absolute hell for you. Are we clear?"

Lily didn't say anything, her eyes still narrowed at the older man. 

"Are we clear?" Jack repeated himself, Lily feeling her fingers tighten slightly around her neck. 

"....we're clear..." 

Jack let's Lily's arm go limp and she slightly relaxed, but kept her guard up. "Let's hurry and get this shit done and over with." He disappears from her sight, Lily glaring at where the AI stood at before she felt a nudge from her arm. She looks over to see Lunastra looking at her with concern, cooing softly. Even Rogue looks at Lily as he placed his claws on Lily's shoulder. Lily sighs deeply before a soft smile was on her face and pets Lunastra and then smiling up at Rogue. "...I'm fine, guys....let's get back to Lilith and tell her what we know so far." 

Lunastra nudged her once more before following Lily out of the Broadcast center, Rogue in front in case more bandits came out. Lily looks back down at her prosthetic arm, seeing a slight light of blue around it and sighed deeply. If she was going to work with Jack, she'll have to be more careful on her tactics.

Otherwise it will cost her life if she's not careful. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I did add a little line for Jack from the second game because I did like that rant and I kept laughing every single time I hear that spoon story he tells. More updates to come!


	4. Attack before Take-Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Lily, Rogue, Lunastra and Jack are on their way to the Crimson Raiders along with the other Vault Hunters. It should be an easy breeze for them, right?

**Chapter 4: Attack before Take-Off**

Lily comes back to the base, Lunastra and Rogue coming out of the vehicle. The woman leans back in her seat a bit before sighing deeply, then turned off the vehicle. She looks back down at her cybernetic arm, not seeing a sign from the AI. Jack hasn't spoken to her since their little argument from the Holy Broadcast Center and it was starting to become unnerving without hearing his antics or his sarcastic attitude around Lily or her friends. 

She steps out of the vehicle and goes up to Lilith. "Here's the Vault Key, Lilith..." Lily said, tossing it to her, which the Firehawk caught it with ease. "Good job, killer. The others were helping Ellie get stuff for the ship to get ready for takeoff." Lilith smiled, making Lily smile back at her before seeing Vaughn approach her. "Hey! Ya made it! Did you see my clan at the center and...why do you smell like blood and skin?" He asked. 

Lily's expression hardened a bit before soften and sighed deeply. "...sorry, Vaughn....but the twins killed them before I could get to them." 

"What!? No! I told them not to..." Vaughn cuts himself off, taking a deep breath. "No... Sun Smashers never cry..." Lily can hear his voice breaking a bit and sighs softly before resting her hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He looks over at her and gives her a gentle smile. "Thanks, Vault Hunter...I know you did what you could..." He managed to say, which Lily gives him a smile in return. "It's fine, Vaughn...and it's Lilian, but I go by for Lily for short; Lilian is too formal for my taste." Lily chuckled a bit at the end. 

That's when Lily and Vaughn saw something glowed by them and looked over to Lilith, who was trying to charge the Vault Key, but the lights flickered on and off. "Hmm...can't get it to charge..." Lilith mumbled under her breath. Lily tilts her head at the Vault Key. "Rogue said it required a Siren to charge it up...so how come it didn't work for you?" Lily asked, looking at the Firehawk. 

"Not sure...usually it doesn't take much, but it looks like it's been damaged." She then looks up at Lily, "Here, take it down to someone named Tannis, she can see what's the problem. We'll meet you at the ship when you're done." She tossed the Vault Key back to Lily, who caught it in surprise but then nods at Lilith. As she exits, she can see her arm flickering blue, making her blink in surprise, but nothing happened. 

'... _I think he's still pissed off at me...'_ She sighs deeply before getting back to the vehicle--

"So what now, pumpkin?" 

Lily jolts a bit, clenching her chest with one hand while trying to get her breathing in control. Next to her was Jack, his arms crossed over her chest while having a smirk on her face from the sudden scare he had given her. 

"Y-You can't just do that, ya piece of shit!" She shouted, managing to calm her heart down and glared at him. He just smirked at her, giving her a wink. "But I love your reactions, pumpkin. Plus, you were in a sour mood, so I had to improve it." He shrugged while Lunastra and Rogue got into the back of the car once again. "By what, making me lose my nine lives?" She joked, her breathing now calmed. 

"Your nine lives are fine, kitten. So what's going on now?" He asked, watching her start up the car. 

"Gotta go to someone named Tannis, the Vault Key isn't charged and Lilith couldn't charge it. So we have to see what's going on...and kill a few COV on the way if we want to." She placed the car in gear and starts to drive, Jack already flickering out of image and back into Lily's cybernetic. 

Her ECHO started to go off and saw it was Tyreen, making her eyes narrowed at her voice. "Hey, Vault Thief! Goin' to recharge that key for me? Aww that's sweet of you...but I don't know why you chose team loser with the Firehawk. Because my followers? They'll do anything for me...here, for example. HEY! You! Cut off one of your legs for me!" Lily arched an eye brow, wondering what kind of person would do that--

"FOR YOU MY QUEEN!" Lily jerked her head back at the sudden scream, hearing flesh being chopped off from something. 

"No, no don't cut your other--aaannnd he cut off his other leg...oh boy now he's trying to stand on his stumps...ugh, hold on a sec." Tyreen groaned, Lily hearing something else happening and the bandit was no longer screaming. "Phew. Glad that's out of the way...wait, what was my point again? Oh yeah! My followers will do anything for me. So keep that in mind, super fan. I'll be back in a bit to get the vault key, so charge it up for me, will ya?" She hangs up on Lily. 

As Lily came to a halt, both Jack and Lily were staring at the ECHO pad, their face having no expression whatsoever. 

"...what the hell did I just listen to?" Jack asked, looking at Lily. 

"Why are you asking me!? I'm just as confused as you are!" 

Lily turns off the car before going down the canyon, Lunastra taking lead as she sniffed on the ground, possibly looking for any other COV psychos that would come their way, Rogue taking the back as he aimed every once in awhile. When they venture up ahead, they can see a camp full of Eridian crystals, a small tent built up along with what looks like an abandoned shack. Lily and Jack glanced at each other before Lily lets out a small whistle to the Saurian. Lunastra perked her head up and ran up ahead, sniffing the area before perking her head up, the frills on her head standing on end. 

"Hello? To whom that is walking in my campsite." 

Lily watched a woman come out of the shack, smiling at her as she brushed the dust off of her red coat. "I assume that Lilith sent you?" She asked. Lily's guard went down slightly, placing the shotgun back in the holster. "Then I am guessing you are Tannis, then?" Lily asked, signalling Rogue to stand down as he lowered his arm. Tannis nods, smiling. "Yes, that would be me. Patricia Tannis, but you may call me Tannis. And you have the Vault Key, I presume?" She asked. 

Lily nods and walks over to Tannis and hands it to her. "Excellent! A proper congratulations is in order!" She then stares at Lily, "That was it. I will look at this while you can roam around the camp and take that is not nailed to the ground." She smiled before walking back inside. Lily jerks her head back and looks at Jack. She gestured a hand to Tannis with a confused look and Jack merely just shrugs. "I'd take the offer if I were you, kitten." He shrugged. Lily only raised an eyebrow at Jack before shrugging it off and looked around for any ammunition. 

"As you may know, Tyreen is also a Siren like Lilith, but she has the power to suck life out of other people and turn them into a husk they leave behind." Tannis called out, making Lily look at the building she was at. "...that would explain all the husks I saw at Ascension's Bluff inside the Holy Broadcast Center. What about her brother, Troy?" She asked, finding SMG ammo for Rogue and placed it inside of his arm where he held all of his ammunition. 

"Not entirely sure about Troy. It is mostly Tyreen that is showing her Siren powers. It looked like that she tried to charge up the Vault Key, but her powers only drain it. I'll try to fix it to my best ability, but I won't make any promises." Tannis said, but then paused when the air went completely silent, LIly also stopping when Lunastra starts to growl, hearing bandit cries over in the distance. "...am I hearing blood cry screams in the distance or am I having another one of my episodes?"

"Let's pray that it is one of your episodes Tannis. Unless you can spawn bandits like crazy!" Lily shouts, getting out her shotgun once more and starts to fire at the incoming bandits. Rogue loads up his fire arm and starts to fire, Lunastra tackling many bandits as she can before snapping their necks. "Lilith, there are bandits attacking my campsite!" Tannis shouted, Lily then hearing something from behind and nearly attacked the source, but then saw Lilith. "Jesus, you scared me, Lilith." She chuckled nervously before firing at the bandit that tried to get her from behind. "Let's keep them off of Tannis." Lilith smirked before teleporting to the other part of the campsite, shooting at bandits while Lily took care of the other half. 

It felt like minutes, almost hours, but the COV finally stopped coming, piles of corpses on the ground as Lily rest her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths while Lunastra collapsed beside her, panting heavily, Rogue reloading his fire arm. Jack smirked down at Lily, one hand resting on his hip. "Aww, can't handle a lil' bandit problem like the big dogs, Lils?" Jack teased, his grin showing a bit of his teeth while Lily glared at him. She simply flips him off and he cackled before disappearing. Tannis slowly peeks her head out, seeing all the bandits dead and sighed deeply with relief. "Glad that's over with...I tried to fix it the best I could, Lilith. Tyreen tried to charge the key herself, but her powers only drained it even further. That's why you couldn't charge it." Tannis stated, Lilith appearing next to her as the Vault key activated, Lily seeing the Vault sign lighting up. 

"I can only make out one vault and that would be...Promethea?" Tannis tilts her head, Lily glancing at the key. "So that's our first goal then, huh? Promethea?...heard they got awesome light shows there." Lily chuckled a bit, then Tannis gasped in excitement. "Of course! That's where Typhon Deleon found the first Vault! Maybe that's a sign!" Tannis stated, earning a small smirk from the Firehawk. She then turned to Lily. "Alright, killer. Guess Promethea is our first goal. Meet us at the ship, the others were helping Ellie with getting the ship ready up." 

"...Lilith, you know that I abhor this..." Tannis whined, knowing what was going to happen. 

"I'm just trying to keep my Eridian expert safe." Lilith chuckled. 

"Do you know any other Eridian expert?" Tannis challenge before they disappeared, Lilith transferring herself and Tannis to the ship. Lily straightens her jacket out before whistling Lunastra and Rogue back to the car. Lily's echo starts to go off again and she only frowned when she saw it was Tyreen once again. 

"You know, when I step in Skag shit, I simply brush it off, but you? You're kind of a clinger, super fan. I mean, you don't know what powers hold inside of the Vault. They're my birth right to open them, you can't handle that kind of power. But remember this, Vault thief...I always get what I want in the end." She hangs up, Jack glaring at her ECHO while letting out a snort. "As much as I hate the damn Firehawk...Tyreen is starting to become number one on my shit list..." Jack growled. Lily rolled her eyes at the A.I. before letting the bot and Saurian get on the vehicle. 

"And who was on there before Tyreen?" Lily chuckled, starting up the car and Jack glanced at her, a deadpan look on his face. "...do you really want me to answer that, pumpkin? You won't like the answer." He said before going back into her arm. Lily rolled her eyes at Jack before starting up the car and was driving to where the coordinates was for the ship. As soon as she got there, Lily was surprised of how big it was, Lily whistling in admiration of the ship. "...this thing is way bigger than I thought..." 

"Hey, VH!" 

Lily blinked and saw Ellie waving her down, the other Vault Hunters there. Lily parks her car, Lunastra hopping out before sniffing FL4K's pets as they came up to greet the Saurian, Rogue simply staying beside Lily as she walks up to them. "Lilith said the first Vault that showed on the key was Promethea...any of you been there before?" Lily asked, looking at the hunters. They all shrugged before Zane spoke up. "Yeh, I've been there. Part of an assassin mission...bloody mess it was...'cause the blighter I was after went up an' explode when he was holdin' a Torgue grenade wrong...pretty funny though..." Zane chuckled. 

Just as Lily was about to asked, the alarms rang out. 

"It's the COV!" Ellie shouted, Lily seeing the door slammed shut where Lilith stood out. The Vault hunters ran up to the sealed door and could hear fighting happening, something powerful colliding with something else before it went silent. "Damn door's busted! Head towards the back to the elevator, Hunters!" Ellie called out. Lily and the Vault Hunters could hear the bandits letting out a battle cry as they charge at them. 

"Let's hurry and get to Lilith!" 

They all nodded and started to fight their way to where Lilith was before Lily could see a TV screen showing an image of Tyreen and her brother Troy holding Lilith, her heart stopping when she saw the Firehawk not moving. "Guys, we need to hurry, now!" Lily shouted, shooting a bandit in the head, then reloading. They rushed through the building, killing any COV's that got in their way until Lily saw Lilith on the ground in the middle of an area, the bandits closing in on her. 

"Get away from her, ya damn zealots!" Lily growls, pulling out her sniper rifle and shot one in the head. That seemed to get their attention as their focus was now on Lily. She lets out a sharp whistle and the Saurian ran past her, roaring while pouncing on one bandit, snapping his neck while Rogue opened fire on the other bandits that were coming from left and right. Once she saw the danger was dying down, Lily ran over to Lilith. "Lilith, you okay!?" Lily asked, helping her up to her feet. 

"V-Vault...hunter..." She sounded in pain and Lily could see no longer see the glowing tattoos. "...Lilith....did she...?"

"Hurry, Lily! Get the commander out of here!" Moze yelled, the bandits trying to ambush them once again. Lily nods at Moze and lets the Firehawk lean against her, placing her arm over her shoulder as she helped Lilith to the ship. "Luna, guard!" 

The saurian perked her head up and ran towards them, keeping behind them while Rogue stayed with the other vault hunters to finish off the bandits.

"...they're gone..." Lily glanced at Lilith when she saw her staring at her arm of where her tattoos once glowed. "...she took them....Tyreen took them..." She whispered, not facing Lily. For once, she didn't say anything, but gives her a gentle squeeze while helping her inside of the ship. Lily then lets out a sharp whistle to signal the other Vault Hunters to get on the ship. 

The ship was slowly rising from the station, everyone on board as the large ship blasted up to the sky, going out of Pandora's orbit. 

00~00

"Lilith, what happened!?" Ellie asked. 

Lily was still supporting Lilith as they got to the bridge of the ship before Lilith slowly stood up, no longer needing the support. "Her tattoos...she's....no longer a siren..." Tannis whispered. Lily didn't say anything, Jack glancing at her with his arms crossed. "...are you sayin' that Tyreen took her powers!? I'd say we hunt down that bitch and get 'im right back!" Ellie shouted. 

"Are you crazy!? I say we stay here and built a fort!" Claptrap shouted, the small bot obviously shaking a bit as he stood behind Lily, clinging to one of her leg. Lily and Jack rolled their eyes. "Aside from Claptrap's statement, are you sure we can take on the Calypso's in the state we are in?" Tannis asked, looking at Lilith. She merely sighs and glanced at Lilith. 

"Tannis has a point, Lilith...it's just only us along with a few Pandoran citizens....I doubt we can take them on in this state, let alone a cult filled with millions of followers..." Lily stated, Lilith took a deep breath and looks at them. "Tyreen is after the powers of the vault, we have to stop them. I may not be a Siren, but I am still a Crimson Raider. And I say we have to fight back at all cost." 

"I'm with ya all the way, Lil'...if it's a fight they want, it's a fight they get." Ellie smirked. Claptrap blinks in surprise and nods. "Yes! That's what I've been saying!" He stated, Lily glancing at the unit with an eyebrow raised and looks at Jack. He just huffs in response and vanished. Lilith then looks at Lily. "Get the other Vault Hunters to the bridge, Lily. And hurry, we need to get to Promethea before the COV." 

Lily nods and went to the cargo bay. 

As they all were leaving, Ellie turns to Lilith. "Hey, Lil...it's bad luck to fly out of orbit if the ship doesn't got a name..." Ellie said, which the Firehawk smirked back at Ellie. 

"...she's already got a name....Sanctuary." 


	5. Game Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As they figure out what to do, Lilith tries to think of the best strategy to get the Atlas Corporation to like them on their side, but what will it cost them?

**Chapter 5: The Game Plan**

* * *

The vault hunters made it to the bridge of the ship, Sanctuary III. They could see Lilith pacing back and forth a bit as the others wait for orders on what to do. Lily would glance at Jack once in awhile when she could see him poking at her, making her swat at him while giving him a glare. That only earned a snicker from the older man as he stops messing with her, the Vault hunters looking at Lily with confusion. 

She then smiled sheepishly at them while inwardly cringing on what just happened. 

"...if we're going to Promethea...we're going to know about it. Claptrap, do we have any intel on Promethea?" Lilith asked, turning to the small robot, who perked up with excitement. "Oh, Promethea? It's the home planet of the Atlas Corporation! It's one of the most armed planets in this part of the galaxy!" He informed. Lilith nods and looks at the Vault Hunters. "Well, if we're going to Promethea, we'll have to get Atlas on our side, or try not to kill us when we open the vault. Can I count on you all?" She asked. 

They all nodded. 

Moze installed the Astronav chip near the navigation module and was about to type the destination to Promethea when the Claptrap unit came over to type it in. "I got this! Onward to Promethea!" 

"Claptrap, wait! That's sensitive space equipment!" Lily tried to stop him, but then felt the entire ship shake, the alarms blaring as now everyone on the bridge of the ship was floating. "Claptrap...what did you do?" Lilith said, the gravity pressure falling as everyone tried to keep themselves balanced. 

"Ahahaha! I'm bloody flyin'!" Zane laughed, Lily trying to balance herself out. "Well...guess I can cross flying off of my bucket list...." Lily chuckled a bit, Jack looking at her with his arms cross behind his head as he pretends to sit. "Don't know about you, kiddo...but I can always fly, so sucks to be you, huh?" He asked, Lily giving him a glare. "Do you always have to be an ass!?" 

"Only when I want to..." Jack smirked. 

Zane looked over at Lily, pretending to be offended. "Ya called me an ass? I feel so offended..." He said, sarcastically clenching to his chest where his heart was, but laughed. "No, Zane...I didn't mean to you, I meant to..." She didn't say anything else, looking away before Lily blinked when she heard the alarms not going off anymore. "That's weird, I'm not seein' that hull breach no more...." Ellie stated over the comm. 

When Lily looked at the source, she nearly snorted and tries to cover her mouth to contain her laughter.

Claptrap was stuck in the hull breach problem, stuck to the glass as he tries to free himself, but couldn't. 

"That's because the only thing standing between this ship and space is my ass! MY ass saved all YOUR asses!" Claptrap yelled, no longer struggling to get out of his predicament. Lunastra and FL4K's pets were looking up at everyone, roaring as they wanted everyone to get back down. "Once sec, y'all. I'll reboot the grav generator." Ellie said. Lunastra timed herself before jumping up, a few inches away from Lily as the gravity came back, Lily landing on the Saurian's back as they landed back down onto the floor. 

Lily blinked before smiling and pets her. "Thanks girl. Always know when to keep me safe." Lily stated, patting her side before sliding off of the Saurian. Lilith looks over at the navigation control and lets out a curse. "Everything's busted. Ellie, how long will it take to get it fixed?" Lilith asked, glancing at the ECHO comm. "Keep your skinny pants on, Lil. I'm workin' on it." 

"Get it going as soon as you can. Vault Hunters, check to make sure everyone is alright. Claptrap? Keep your ass in that hole." 

"You got it!" 

Lily rolled her eyes as they all went their separate ways before Lily could hear scratches coming from a room. Lunastra lets out a huff before sniffing the door where the scratches were coming out from. She lets out a confused hoot before trying to nudge the door, then roared at Lily. "Hold on, girl..." Lily placed her shotgun away and managed to unlock the door. She was surprised to see what it was. 

It was another Saurian. 

Unlike Lunastra, it had some sort of collar that was hooked to other things around his body. The saurian looks at Lunastra and gives her a curious sniff before glancing at Lily. "Maurice thanks you for freeing me! It is good to see another Saurian on board the Sanctuary!" He states. Lily blinks before glancing at the collar. "So that collar helps you talk?" She asked. 

"Yes. The scientist named 'Tannis' provided Maurice with this peculiar device. That way, Maurice can speak to others! It is good to hear the voice. You smell of Edens, from my old home. That is good, a familiar smell! It fills Maurice with joy!" He stated, but his throat was rumbling with purrs as he walked up to Lily and gives her a gentle nudge. Lily blinks before petting Maurice's head. "Yeah...it is..." 

Lunastra looks at Maurice and roars at him, her tail wagging. "Your Saurian friend, she says that she is happy! Happy to see another Saurian! And is glad to be with you on your journey! If you need help, come to Maurice! Maurice will help you if you need any!" He said before nudging Lily towards to where the medical room is located. Lily glanced at Maurice and then Lunastra, then smiled. 

Jack appears her. "...you should hook her up to one of those things." 

"...will put it down as a maybe, J. But now, let's check on Tannis. Haven't seen her since the take-off." Lily said, entering the room. The entire room was frozen, all the controls and equipment covered in ice and frost. "Uhh, Tannis? You in here?" Lily asked, only seeing a dead Saurian, which Lunastra hissed and backed away before going back to where Maurice was at. 

"Lily? Is that you? Mind turning back on the heat? I'm alright for now, but please turn the heat back on." Her voice was muffled, Lily and Jack looking around the room in confusion before Lily could see the button. She knows it was the control for the room temperature, but it was covered in ice. "...to hell with it..." Lily mumbled as she pulled out a Jakobs pistol and shoots at it, clearing the ice, then pressed the button. 

The ice in the room started to melt, the Saurian corpse slowly going stiff before going limp. As Lily was about to ask Tannis, she watched in shock and horror as the scientist was coming out from inside of the Saurian, exiting the mouth as she was covered in blood. "Phew! Thank you Vault Hunter! I will let you know if I need anything else needs to be smashed. Now please leave, I need to count my supplies and see what I am dealing with." 

Tannis pushed Lily out of the room gently, the door closing behind her. Lily and Jack slowly looking at each other before shivering in disgust. 

"...now I know why Lunastra left the room....guess I'm cancelling lunch..." Lily mumbled. Jack, for once, does not say anything as he walks alongside Lily as they met up with the other Vault Hunters. "Ellie said to meet her downstairs...." Amara said, all them meeting up with Ellie. They all went downstairs to meet Ellie near the bay of Sanctuary III, smiling at the Vault Hunters. "Hey there, guys. I got some stuff fer ya..." She smirked as she pressed a button to reveal them the equipment...

...only to see the boxes on fire in the cargo bay. 

"Ah hell, we'll have to vent the cargo bay and ditch our efforts...." Ellie groaned, pressing another button to open the blast doors, all of the boxes now going into the vacuum of space, the fire dimming until it completely vanished. "Well, there go all the grapple-grabbers, jet backs an' all of the other cool things I was savin' for ya'll...guess it wasn't meant ta be....but if that ol' bat, Crazy Earl hasn't been sucked into space yet, he may have the part we need to fix up the ship! Tell 'im ya'll need an entropy accelerator. Otherwise, we're sittin' ducks in Pandora's orbit." 

"Wait, Crazy Earl is still alive?" Jack asked, reappearing next to Lily. She nearly bolted, but hid it very well as the other Vault Hunters went down to see a another blast door, writings all over it, but one stood out that said 'GET LOST' on it and 'Only Eridium shards, all sales final." 

"Earl!" Ellie banged on the door, "Wake the hell up! Our ship's dead in the water and we need your help!" She shouts, the slider on the door opening to reveal the face of Earl that lived in what he called 'his room. "Whatchu want!?" He snapped. 

"Uhh, an entropy accelerator?" Lily asked, glancing at Jack with a questioning look. Jack just merely shrugged at him, he dealt with the old bat many of times, but it seems that he had a shittier attitude than ever. "I'm busy, now SCRAM!" He slams the slider shut, making Ellie groan. 

"Just hand over the part Earl, we don' have time fer this!" 

"I don't see your name on the door, whoever the hell you are! No sell, now get lost free loader!" 

"Earl, if you don't hand over the part, I'ma twist ya into a pretzel and fondue your ass!" Ellie threatened, making Earl open the slider once more. "Fair enough, but ya'll have ta buy it with what I need! Ya'll got any eridium?" He asked. They all looked at each other and patted their pockets. When the Vault hunters shrugged their shoulders at Earl, he slammed the slider shut once more. "No eridium, no sale! Now beat it!" 

"Earl, it's been a day, amigo...don't test me..." Ellie growled. 

"No eridium, no sale!" Earl shouted once more before they all heard something clicked. "Earl you--" Ellie clenched her hand into a fist and growls. "Guys, he locked himself up...if ya'll have eridium, then the ol' bat will give us what we want. Go talk to my ma at the bar, she usually carries many currencies on her. She may even have a few eridium shards she can spare." Ellie offered. 

The Vault Hunters took their chances and went up to the bar that was on Sanctuary and when they saw the sign, they were shocked of who it was. 

Mad Moxxi 

She was sitting on one of the stools that was by her bar and gave them a flirty wink at them before getting up and walked up to them. "...Ellie's mom is Mad Moxxi herself?" Lily whispered, still trying to take the news in as Amara slowly nods. "...I thought it was a myth....guess it is true...." She whispered back. Jack was just merely glaring at Moxxi, his arms crossed over his chest. Lily glanced at Jack, then back at Moxxi then back at Jack again. He just glanced at Lily and huffs. 

She'll have to ask him later. 

"Name's Moxxi...what's yours, sugars?" Moxxi asked, her tone sounding flirtatious, making everyone tense a bit. Zane was the first to speak. "Uhh, it's Zane?...w-we had a weekend at a casino!...did ya forget me?" Lily can tell he was already smitten, Moxxi chuckled at his response. 

"Guilty as charge..." 

"Quit thirstin' our new vault hunters, ma! We're in the crap! We need some eridium to fix the ship!" Ellie said over their Echo, which Lily was somewhat relieved at the sudden interruption while Moxxi just smiled at them. "Have you tried one of my slot machines? Maybe you'll get lucky..." She walks over to one before hitting it with her arm twice before hitting it with her hip, the machine making a new beeping sound. 

Lily gulps before stepping forward and pulled down the lever, the machine going into action before all three slots landed on an eridium logo, spitting out a few shards of eridium to them. "Well, would you look at that? Seems you have the magic touch, hon..." Moxxi said, smiling at Lily. Lily was doing her best to keep a straight face. She heard a few stories about Mad Moxxi and seeing her in person is not helping her at all. 

"Drop by anytime, sugars...I got some...other games we can play." Moxxi winks at them, Zane seemingly to slouch a bit as he watched Moxxi walk away to her bar. "Okay, Zane, let's go before you start drooling." Lily said, the others leaving while Lily was helping Zane move his feet out of Moxxi's bar. He stopped for a minute, giving a wave at Moxxi before Lily shoved him again to move. 

"Alright, let's give that turd blossom Earl what he wants..." Ellie groaned as the others came back to Earl, which he slides the slider opened and saw the eridium. He quickly snatches it from Lily's hand and chucks the part at them. "There, ya happy? Now scram!" Earl shouted before locking the slider once again. "...pleasure doing business with you earl, you crazy old timer..." Lily mumbled, going to the engine to install the part, Jack just watching her. 

"...saw you glaring at Moxxi...got a story for that?" Lily asked, screwing a few bolts out to get the panel out. Jack just huffs. "I don't know why Moxxi is here....nothin' but trouble if ya ask me...it seems that she'll be there wherever I go...I don't remember why I dated her." Jack grumbled, making Lily almost drop the part and looks at Jack surprised. "...you....and Moxxi....? You two...were a thing?" She asked. 

Jack just rolled his eyes. "A long time ago, yeah...and that's all your getting out of me, pumpkin so don't ask anymore about that." He said, pointing his finger at her. She gives him a weird look before rolling her eyes at him before installing the entropy accelerator. "Okay, Ellie...it's in." Lily said, sealing the panel with the bolts. The engine then started to roar with life, everything going back online. "There we go...she's purrin' like a skag with a belly full o' bandits. We're back online, Lil!" Ellie laughed. 

"Good...Vault Hunters, come to the bridge." Lilith said through their Echo comms. When they got to the bridge, they saw Lilith there, Claptrap still trapped in the whole on the ship's glass, along with Moxxi. "We have to get to Promethea...but Moxxi has got a proposition for you if a few of you are interested..." She said, Moxxi stepping forward. "I got an idea for quite some time, but didn't have the firearms to get it done...I'm talkin' about a heist. I'm willing to let a few come with to help me make this happen..." Moxxi smirked. 

"I need at least one of the vault hunters with me, Moxxi...I know you need fire power, but I need them as well to help us get to the vaults before the calypsos do." Lilith argued, Moxxi turning to the Firehawk. "Oh I know hun...that's why I'm letting them decide on what to do. There are no wrong answers, sugars...." Moxxi smiled at them. Lily glanced at the other vault hunters before looking down at her arm and nods, sighing deeply. "...Moxxi?"

Moxxi turned to Lily. "....how about you take Zane, Fl4k, Moze and Amara with you...I'll stay with Lilith to help her with Promethea." LIly offered, all eyes now on her. "Lily...." Lilith trailed off, looking at her surprised. 

"Lily, are you sure?" Moze asked, looking at her. Lily nods before shrugging casually. "Yeah, and I'm bad at the whole 'heist' thing, so I'll most likely will be in the way. They seem to have more experience with this, especially Zane. You'll need their firepower more than mine." Lily explained. Moxxi looks at Lily and then smiled. "Do you all have any objections to her offer?" Moxxi asked them. 

They all shook their head. 

Moxxi smiled and then looks at Lily. "Thanks, sugar...and don't worry...I'll bring you something nice if this heist is a success...kick ass for me while I'm gone, okay?" Moxxi asked, stroking her cheek before walking past her, the other vault hunters following her. Lily felt herself in a trance when Moxxi stroked her cheek like that before snapping out of it, shaking her head rapidly. She then looks at Lilith. "...does she have that effect with everyone?" Lily asked. 

Lilith could only chuckle. "That's Moxxi for you. And thanks for sticking around, killer. So let's head to Promethea. Moxxi got a ship for the other vault hunters so we'll be okay. Set coordinates to Promethea...for real this time." She made a side glance at Claptrap, who kept trying to get out of the place he was stuck in from time to time, but nothing happened. Lily nods before typing in the right coordinates. The ship starts to move away from Pandora. "Here we go..." Lilith smiled. 

"Here we go!" Ellie cheered. 

"Wh-what's happening? I can't see!" Claptrap protested, now struggling more to get out of the spot. The ship then started to jump into hyper-drive and jumps, many starts and planets passing through. "Come on..." Lilith prayed, hoping the ship stays in contact through hyper space. 

"My ass...is full of stars!" Claptrap said in awe, Lily rolling her eyes before the ships jumps out of hyperspace, now in the orbits of Promethea. Lily smiled as she runs up to the window. "Promethea, we made it! Wait..." Lily saw familiar ships circling around the orbit as well and tensed. 

"....those are Maliwan fleets!" 

"I thought this was an Atlas planet. Somethin' ain't right, Lil..." Ellie said, seeing the ships as well. Lilith had her eyes narrowed and looks at Lily. "Why would they go for Promethea?" Lilith asked, Lily could only shrugging. 

"I quit Maliwan years ago. I don't know why they are here, Lilith or have no clue of what they're up to." Lily stated. Lilith sighs and nods before looking back at the planet. "We have to get to the vault first and try to get Atlas on our side...." She said, starting to hook into the planet's system so that they can use the fast travel systems. "Dammit! Looks like Maliwan is jamming the fast travel systems. I can't go in...but I found a distress signal." 

Lily typed in a few commands before the signal could be heard through the speakers. 

"Atlas, come in Atlas! We need back up! Send reinforcements! Bandits are pourin' in! Send back up at once!" The distress signal cuts off after that, Lily and the Firehawk looking at each other. "Looks like the COV are on the planet already....help whoever gave out that distress signal. Maybe that'll get us on Atlas's good side. Ellie, is there a way to get Lily onto Promethea?" Lilith asked. 

"Way ahead of ya, Lil. Vault Hunter, come to the cargo bay an' let's chat." Ellie smirked. Lily nods and whistles for Lunastra and Rogue to follow. They slowly went down to the cargo bay and met with Ellie by a drop pod. "Okay, so I hooked up the drop pod with the travel system so you should be able to in the outer rims of Promethea. Now I won't lie that it will be comfortable, but I did what I can...but you'll be able ta land in Promethea no problem." Ellie then turned to Lily. 

"Make sure to kick ass for Lils, will ya hon?" She then sighs, "Someone has to...." She mumbled at the last part. Lily smiled and gives Ellie shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry...I will..." Lily smiled before entering the drop pod, Lunastra and Rogue following her in. Ellie punched in a few buttons and then pulls a lever. "Good luck, VH!" She shouts. 

With that, Lily went down to Promethea to fight whatever is in store for her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the four vault hunters won't be in for the next few chapters, but don't worry. They'll be in the adventures of vault hunting soon enough. I decided on this awhile ago, but like I said. They'll be in the story in the near future, just not for this first vault.


End file.
